My all-purpose version consists of four components: batter, cream cheese filling, fruit preserves and crumb topping. The last three can be changed (or in some cases, omitted) to create a custom cake.
Yogurt gives the batter enough heft to support the cream cheese, preserves, and crumble. But in the oven, the thick batter rises into a feather-light, moist, tender cake.
The optional cream cheese layer gives it an irresistible tang and keeps it moist, while the fruit layer helps define the cake.
The crumble topping consists of large, sweet clumps that bake into crisp, toffee-flavored bits, which adhere beautifully to the cake and don't fall off when cut. To form the impressive, clay-like clumps, knead the ingredients with your hands rather than with a fork. Choose nuts, coconut or oatmeal to flavor the crumble. Or keep it simple with just flour, sugar and butter.
To preserve the crumb topping, don't invert this cake onto a wire rack to cool. Instead, make the foil sling as instructed. After a five-minute rest, lift the cake from the pan with the foil sling, then transfer it to a wire rack to keep it from steaming in the pan. If you own a 10-inch springform pan, you can skip the foil step and loosen the clasp on the pan after running a sharp knife around the perimeter. This coffeecake holds well at room temperature overnight when wrapped in foil, not plastic wrap.
Copyright 2004 USA Weekend and columnist Pam Anderson. All rights reserved.
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